Fallen

We had a little bit of excitement in mid-February. I heard a gentle scraping or sliding noise and though that it was the peacocks on the roof again but J and my father had both noticed half of our flametree falling onto the drive as if in slow motion. Both of our vehicles were parked beneath the tree but remarkably it just slipped down the back of them, smashing only one tail light.

We'd only been talking about the tree at dinner the night before. A large branch had fallen from it previously and left it a little lopsided. We guessed that its days were numbered but we hadn't appreciated that it would succumb quite so soon!

There was no wind at all and it wasn't particularly humid so the leaves weren't full of water and overweight. There was a smell of rot coming from the cracked trunk though so perhaps it had just had enough. Because flametrees often split low down in the trunk, they're vulnerable to rot at the joint as water can settle there. The two sides of the trunk also grow apart, pushing the other side away until the two are no longer compatible.